East Timor

The island of Timor was originally populated as part of the human migrations that have shaped Australasia more generally. It is believed that descendants from at least three waves of migration still live in the country. The first were related to the principal indigenous groups of New Guinea and Australia, and arrived before 40,000 years ago. Around 3000 BC, Austronesians migrated through to Timor, and are possibly associated with the development of agriculture on Timor.[citation needed] Thirdly, proto-Malays arrived from south China and north Indochina.The mountainous nature of the country meant that these groups remained separate, and explains why there is so much linguistic diversity in East Timor today.